


twenty five

by AlmondRose



Category: Batman - All Media Types, new 53
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Gen, Time Skips, idk what to tagggggg per the normmmmmm, mild violence i guess?, new 53 au, straight up au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmondRose/pseuds/AlmondRose
Summary: the story of a family; told in fragments





	twenty five

**Author's Note:**

> hnn so i have this au called new 53 (pretty much everything is different lol) and you can find more details about it at @new53.tumblr.com and this takes place in that au!! this story just follows the bats/supers but if you have any questions about the others, hmu on that tumblr! 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

 

It’s raining and cold and Bruce Wayne’s life is over.

 

He’s numb and doesn’t feel anything and there’s blood on his hands and pants and shirt and there are people all around him, saying something that he can’t understand.

 

A siren wails.

 

Bruce stands there, alone and feeling a million miles away from the people pressed around him, and someone guides him away from the crowd.

 

Bruce sees, vaguely, red hair and rectangular glasses.

 

The man sits next to him, and Bruce is aware of the man telling him his name but Bruce doesn’t hear it. Everything is blurry and far away and suddenly one person comes into focus.

 

Bruce stands up and runs to Alfred, and Alfred holds him tight.

 

“It’s alright, lad,” Alfred says. “Everything’ll be alright.”

 

That statement is so absurd that Bruce says something equally absurd.

 

“I’m--I’m getting b-blood on your clothes--”

 

“That’s alright,” Alfred says. “It’s okay.”

 

Bruce doesn’t particularly think it will be, but he doesn’t say that.

 

Everything feels better with Alfred.

 

—-

 

Bruce stirs his soup for something to do. The clinking of silverware is the only sound in the room.

 

Bruce peeks at the faces around him, at Uncle Jacob and Aunt Gabi and Beth and Kate and Uncle Jacob’s friend, General Lane, and General Lane’s wife who’s name Bruce doesn’t remember and his daughters who Bruce knows both start with L but he doesn’t remember their actual names.

 

Bruce feels out of place, awkward. He sips his soup.

 

Kate makes a face at him from across the table.

 

“So,” General Lane says, after a long time. “Jacob.”

 

And suddenly General Lane and Uncle Jacob are deep in conversation, and Kate and Beth are kicking each other, and the moms are talking, and the younger Lane daughter starts tugging on her mom’s sleeve, and the older one, who’s next to Bruce, turns to him and says excitedly, “So did they ever catch your parents’ killer?”

 

“What?” Bruce asks, thrown completely off-guard, and she says, “Your parents’ killer. Did they ever figure out who did it?”

 

“No?” Bruce says. “Why are you asking?”

 

“It’s a mystery,” she says, a gleam in her eyes. “I _love_ mysteries.”

 

“I like mysteries, too,” Bruce says. “And since the cops didn’t find out who did it, I was trying to, but it’s hard. Alfred won’t really let me have the resources to actually get anywhere.”

 

“Who’s Alfred? A cop?” the girl asks, leaning closer. Bruce can’t help but lean in too, like he’s sharing a secret.

 

“He’s my butler,” Bruce says. “I live with him.”

 

“I thought you lived with General Kane,” the girl says, her face scrunching up in confusion.

 

“No, I’m just staying with him while Alfred’s in England.”

 

“That’s really cool,” the girl says. “Hey, since we live in Gotham now, maybe you and I could try and solve the mystery together.”

 

“Maybe,” Bruce says, entertaining the idea. He’s not sure if he wants help. He’s not even sure if he wants to hang out with this girl.

 

“I mean, I could do it myself, but I don’t know my way around Gotham,” the girl says, blinking at him. “Yet.”

 

“Fine,” Bruce says. “Give me your number and I’ll call you later.”

 

The girl grins at him, and Bruce feels like she won. He’s not sure what she’d be winning, but he thinks she won.

 

She takes a pen from behind her ear, and scribbles a number on a napkin, handing it to Bruce.

 

He stares it it.

 

The ink is purple, and she wrote LOIS on the top, and CALL ME >:) under her number.

 

Bruce pockets the napkin, and thinks that maybe he will.

 

—-

 

“Joe Chill,” a female voice says from behind him.

 

“What about him?” he asks, and the voice says, “He killed the Waynes.”

 

“You’re sure?” Bruce asks, turning around, and the alley behind him is empty.

 

—-

 

“Look,” Bruce says, and Lois crosses her arms.

 

“You dragged me all the way out from Metropolis for _this?”_ she asks, staring down at the hole on the ground.

 

“This,” Bruce says. “Is not just any hole.”

 

“You,” Lois says, clearly mocking him. “Are an idiot.”

 

“Look,” Bruce says, and he sits down next to the hole. He pats the ground next to him, and with a lot of eye-rolling Lois follows suit.

 

Bruce dangles his legs down into the hole, then pushes himself down.

 

He falls for only a second before he’s caught.

 

“Don’t _do_ that,” Lois scolds, looking stricken, holding him in her arms. Bruce grins.

 

“Look down,” Bruce says, and his voice echoes.

 

Lois gives him a look, then she looks down and gasps.

 

The caves aren’t lit, but Bruce knows Lois can see them.

 

“Oh my _god,”_ she says.

 

“These caverns are under Wayne Manor,” Bruce says, and from the light overhead Bruce can see Lois’s eyes darting around below them.

 

“They look like--abandoned mine shafts?” she says, and Bruce nods.

 

“That’s what Alfred thought, too,” he says.

 

Lois flies up and Bruce pulls himself out of the hole, Lois flying out behind him.

 

“You have a plan,” she says, and it’s not a question. “For use of these caves.”

 

“I’m still figuring out the details,” Bruce says, and Lois laughs.

 

“You are ridiculous.”

 

“Alfred says I can spelunk if I take you with me,” Bruce says, turning to look at her.

 

“I have classes,” Lois says, narrowing her eyes. “Not all of us are college dropouts.”

 

“Hey, now,” Bruce says, and Lois elbows him.

 

“How’s spring break sound?” she asks.

 

“A last hurrah,” Bruce says, sadly.

  
He’s gonna miss Lois when he’s gone.

 

“A last hurrah,” Lois echoes. “When are you leaving?”

 

“Summer,” he says. “You still have to take care of Alfred.”

 

“Alfred doesn’t need me to take care of him,” Lois says. “But of course.”

 

Bruce leans his head on Lois’s shoulder.

 

“Anyone else think it’s fitting that your new lair is a bunch of stupid caves and _my_ lair is a beautiful ice fortress?” Lois asks, and Bruce laughs.

 

—

 

He shouldn’t do this, Bruce thinks as he kisses her.

 

He shouldn’t be--no distractions.

 

Her hands find his hair, and Bruce kisses her harder.

 

No distractions.

 

They break apart and she smiles, her red lipstick not even smudged. Bruce kisses her again.

 

No distractions.

 

This time when they break apart, her lips curl in a smirk. Bruce wants to kiss her more.

 

No distractions.

 

“I can’t,” Bruce says.

 

“You _can,”_ she says, raising an eyebrow.

 

No distractions.

 

“No distractions,” Bruce says.

 

“Is that all I am to you?” she asks. “A distraction.”

 

“Maybe,” Bruce says, and she laughs.

 

“I might be a distraction,” she says, and she leans in closer, her green eyes sparkling. “But I’m a damn good one.”

 

With that, she steps away from him and flips her hair.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in a trial?” she asks, and Bruce starts.

 

How much time has he lost?

 

“You did that on purpose,” he accuses.

 

“Obviously,” she says, rolling her eyes. She leans in closer. “But hey, if you survive this trial, and my father doesn’t kill you--my room is always open.”

 

She turns to leave and Bruce has to--he has to.

 

“Talia--” he starts, and she turns. “I just--I might take you up on that.”

 

—

 

“Bats?”

 

“Yeah, bats.”

 

“That’s ridiculous.”

 

“No more ridiculous than flying around calling yourself ‘super’.”

 

“I don’t call myself ‘super’. _Lois Lane_ calls _Kala Jor-El_ ‘super’.”

 

“There isn’t a difference.”

 

“Isn’t there? Are Brucie and Bruce not completely different people?”

 

“.....Don’t forget about Batman.”

 

“Oh my _god,_ I could _never_ forget about _Batman.”_

 

—

 

“Who were you wanting to ask?” Green Lantern asks, crossing his arms. “It can’t just be the three of us.”

 

“It _could_ be,” Flash says. “Although I agree that we’d need more people for better credibility.”

 

“What about Wonder Woman?” Superwoman muses. “She’s more than capable.”

 

“She’s also old,” Flash says. “She hasn’t done anything beyond politics in years.”

 

“Doesn’t she have a daughter?” Green Lantern asks. “We could--”

 

“We don’t know anything about her daughter,” Superwoman says. “Never mind. What about the other Green Lanterns?”

 

“Hal and Alan are retired and Guy’s been on Oa for months,” Green Lantern says. “There aren’t any other human Lanterns.”

 

“Great,” Superwoman mutters. “So this League is a three person gig, then.”

 

“There could be others,” Green Lantern says. “Maybe if we do start this League, people will join naturally.”

 

“What about Batman?” Flash asks.

 

“Batman?” Green Lantern repeats. “I thought that was a myth.”

 

“Batman _can’t_ be real,” Superwoman says. “If he was, there’d be more reliable sightings or something.”

 

“I mean, maybe he teleports or something,” Flash says. “Superspeed isn’t out of the question, either.”

 

“I suppose,” Superwoman says. “I can look for him, but I very much doubt his existence.”

 

“For now, maybe we should start working together more often, and wait for other heroes to show up,” Green Lantern says.

 

“That makes the most sense,” Flash says, and Superwoman nods.

 

—

 

“Move in with me,” Bruce says, suddenly.

 

They’re sitting in his study, Bruce pouring over Wayne Enterprise stuff and Lois halfway through her article.

 

Lois blinks, surprised.

 

“What?” she says, although she knows her super-hearing didn’t lead her wrong.

 

“Move in with me,” he says again, and Lois thinks about it.

 

She considers her apartment, which is nice, and the Fortress, where she spends half of her time, which is also nice.

 

“Okay,” she says.

 

“Okay,” Bruce says, and they both go back to their work.

 

—

 

Steph thinks she looks pretty good, all things considered.

 

She’s wearing a jacket, and her hood is up, and she tied an old sheet around her neck, and she has on pants and combat boots and an orange utility belt she stole from her dad’s stuff.

 

She pulls on a ski mask over her face and decides that this is as good as it’s gonna get, and she pushes at the belt again and wishes it wasn’t orange.

 

She can’t really do anything, though, so she climbs out her window and lands on the fire escape. She closes her window and climbs up the fire escape stairs to the roof, where she runs across and jumps to the next roof.

 

Steph’s been jumping across the roofs for as long as she can remember, so this isn’t anything new. What _is_ new is when she climbs onto the window washer pulley and pulls herself up the side of the building, clutching her purple spray paint.

 

 _No going back now_ , she thinks, and she sprays, big and vibrant and purple, across the building.

 

LET THE PUZZLEMENT FIT THE CRIME

 

—

 

Wayne Manor looks like a castle.

 

Steph stares up at it with an open jaw. She’s known Batman was Bruce Wayne for a long time, but she’s never seen the outside of his house before.

 

She unrolls the window of the limo and sticks her head out, trying to get a closer look at the castle.

 

“Miss Brown,” Alfred says, sounding amused and disapproving, and Steph takes the hint and slides back into the car.

 

“For the last time, _please_ just call me Steph,” she says.

 

“Miss Stephanie, then,” he says, and she meets his eye in the rearview mirror and it’s twinkling.

 

They pull up the long, long driveway, and Alfred parks in the driveway.

 

“Master Bruce will be at the front door,” he says. “I’ll bring in your luggage.”

 

“Alfred, you’re the best,” Steph says, and Alfred says, “I’m well aware.”

 

Steph jumps out of the car and walks around to the front, trying to comprehend the vast size of the whole place. She finds the front door and debates whether or not she’s supposed to open it or ring the doorbell, but the door opens before she can decide.

 

“Hello, Stephanie,” Bruce says, smiling down at her. “Welcome home.”

 

_Home._

 

That’s a word Steph has complicated emotions with, but she supposes maybe she can try it out again. She goes inside and looks around the opening, which is huge and grand and Steph’s jaw drops again.

 

“How’d you know I was outside?” Steph asks finally, her brain shorting out.

 

“Lois told me,” Bruce says. “But she had to step out a minute. I’ll introduce you two when she gets back.”

 

Steph nods and Bruce says, “Let’s show you around.”

 

He takes her through the living room and the dining room and the ballroom and the kitchen and the family room and the library and his study, and when they’re in his study he turns the clock’s hands around and reveals the passage to down below.

 

“Is that the Batcave?” Steph asks, peeking down into the darkness.

 

“Yes,” Bruce says, and Steph grins.

 

“Later,” she says. “For now I wanna see the rest of the house!”

 

He takes her to the second floor, which has rooms and rooms and rooms, and Bruce tells her that they’re all the guest rooms, and then he takes her to the _third_ floor, which has more rooms.

 

Steph’s looking at the halls in wonder when she hears footsteps and turns to see a woman with long brown hair and glasses coming up the stairs.

 

“Sorry about that,” she says. “You know how it is.”

 

“I do,” Bruce says, and then he says, “Stephanie, this is Lois.”

 

Steph has never met Lois before, although she’s pretty sure, from what she’s heard, that Lois is _magical._

 

Steph holds out her hand and Lois shakes it.

 

“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” she says. “Bruce has been talking about you pretty much nonstop for _months_ now.”

 

“He has?” Steph asks, surprised.

 

“I have not,” Bruce says.

 

“Has too,” Lois says. “It’s all I hear anymore. ‘Lois, stop writing that article and listen to me talk about Stephanie’. ‘Lois, Spoiler is insanely smart and I can’t figure out what she’s doing’. ‘Lois, I know you’ve never met her, but do you think I should start training her?’ ‘Lois, stop trying to plan our wedding, I want to know if I should adopt this child’.”

 

Steph laughs and Bruce makes a face.

 

“I don’t sound like that,” he protests. “I help with the wedding.”

 

“Of course you do,” Lois says, and she turns to Steph and says in a low whisper, “Alfred does most of the planning, to be honest.”

 

Steph giggles again and Bruce says, “Do you want to see your room, Stephanie?”

 

Steph nods and Bruce leads her to the room next to the master bedroom, and opens the door for her.

 

Steph steps in and her jaw falls for what seems like the millionth time that day.

 

The walls are painted a dull purpleish color, and the bed is bigger than any bed she’s ever had before, and there’s a dresser and a desk and room for her to customize it however she wants. Her suitcase is on the floor and Bruce says, “We can make any changes you want to it.”

 

Steph turns and hugs him instead of answering. She squeezes him tight and she can’t remember the last time she hugged someone.

 

Bruce hugs her back and he whispers, “We have one last surprise,” then he takes her back downstairs and to another wing of the manor, one that’s dusty and closed.

 

Bruce opens the double doors to reveal a large room that looks recently cleaned, with wide windows streaming in sunlight.

 

There’s a grand piano on one side of the room, and couches and music stands and a shelf of what looks like music.

 

Steph doesn’t know what to say.

 

“This was my mother’s piano,” Bruce says idly. “She used to play it for my father and I. After she died, I stopped going to this side of the manor and the room remained locked. But I thought maybe you would want to bring some music to this house again.”

 

Steph walks over to the piano and traces the top of it.

 

“I love it,” she says, and her voice is hollow with tears. This is so much and it’s barely been twenty minutes of living here.

 

“I thought you might,” Bruce says, and Steph lets herself cry.

 

—

 

When Spoiler returns to her bike, she stops short.

 

Her bike is missing a tire, and the other tire is being worked out of place by a lanky teenager, older than her by a few years.

 

“Hey!” Spoiler says. “D’you know who’s bike that is?”

 

The teen jumps and turns to face her. He swings at her with his tire iron and she blocks it.

 

“Excuse me!” she says, and he says, “Oh! You’re just a kid!”

 

“I am _not,”_ Spoiler says, offended, and the guy tries to hit her again, then he runs off with the tire iron, and one of her tires. “Hey!”

 

She chases after him, and they run throughout the city streets.

 

At one point, she has to stop a mugging, and the teen waits for her, leaning against the mouth of the alley, and the second she’s done he takes off and she runs after him. They run and run until they’ve tired themselves out, and when this happens they mutually collapse on the ground of the alley they’ve stopped in.

 

“M’name’s Jason,” he says, offering his hand.

 

“Spoiler,” she says, and he grins.

 

“That’s a cool name,” he says. “Do you know Batman?”

 

“Yeah,” Spoiler says. “He’s pretty cool.”

 

“When I took your tires I thought they were his,” Jason says.

 

“It’s okay,” Spoiler says. “You can keep it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah,” she says. “I’ll get a new one.”

 

Jason looks at her and Spoiler wonders if he thinks she’s swimming in wealth; if she’s a millionaire who doesn’t give a thought to money. Something in Steph’s mind reminds her that she _is,_ she is the daughter of a billionaire and she _doesn’t_ need to give a thought to money, except she thinks about it too much because it wasn’t always that way.

 

She’s known Jason for less than a minute, but she knows he lives on the streets and she knows he needs the money that a tire could gain.

 

“You don’t mind?” Jason asks, hesitant, clearly afraid to give up this gift.

 

“I don’t mind,” Spoiler says, and she casts her gaze at the sky to check the time. It’s late. Or, well, early.

 

She stands up.

 

“I have to go,” she says. “I won’t tell anyone where my tire went.”

 

“Thanks,” Jason says, and she pulls him to his feet. He tucks the tire under his arm and rests the tire iron on his shoulder. “See you around, I guess.”

 

“Hopefully,” Spoiler says, and she grapples away, wondering if she’s made a friend.

 

—

 

Jason races into the kitchen, his heart thudding in his chest. Everyone turns to look at him, as though he’s made a very loud noise.

 

“What happened?” Bruce asks, half-rising from his chair.

 

“I was looking for my real mom, right,” Jason says. “So I decided to run my sample through the Batcomputer’s database just to see.”

 

“Okay,” Lois says, slowly.

 

“And I found a match,” Jason says.

 

“Who?” Steph asks. Jason turns to look at the end of the table.

 

“I didn’t find my mom,” he says. “But according to the computer--Cass, you and I are twins.”

 

“You and Cass are _what?”_ Steph repeats, and Alfred says, “Congratulations,” in a dry voice.

 

Bruce sits back down, looking dumbfounded, and Lois says, “That’s--that’s a lot to process.”

 

“Brother,” Cass says, her voice faint, and Jason suddenly feels like he might pass out. He drags out his chair and sits at his usual space; next to Steph and across from Cass.

 

“Sister,” Jason says, and they look at each other, and an understanding seems to pass between them.

 

—

 

The clouds are grey and look like they’re going to burst with rain. A chilly burst of air waves through the air and the trees move gently.

 

A thin stream of people feed out of the gate, and four people lie beyond.

 

The two coffins stand out against the green grass like ugly scars, and in the four people huddled next to it, the only color is the yellow strike of Steph’s hair.

 

At the end of the line of people leaving the cemetary, Tim Drake hesitates, looking back at the Waynes, then he turns and runs to catch up with the others.

 

The Waynes stand in silence, the air heavy and cold. Lois isn’t sure when the last time they said anything was. She’s also not sure how long they’ve been standing there, how long it’s been since they’ve moved.

 

Something sounds, something that sounds like a ship. It reminds Lois of the Fortress.

 

She turns.

 

“What is it?” Bruce asks, his voice hoarse with disuse.

 

“I hear--it sounds like _home,”_ Lois says, and Bruce understands.

 

“Go,” he says, and Lois _can’t_ leave her son and daughter’s funeral, but Steph pushes her side, gently, and says, “You’re still Superwoman.”

 

And--and Steph’s right, so Lois twists into red and blue and gold, and she lifts off into the skies above, following the sound of the ship and landing where she hears it crash.

 

The ship is familiar; it’s identical to the one that’s currently in the batcave.

 

The only difference, Lois notes as she lands, is that it’s larger, fit to hold an adult over an infant.

 

She runs to it, suddenly determined of what it is.

 

The ship opens of it’s own accord to reveal a teenage girl with curly blonde hair, asleep. The girl is probably around Steph’s age, and a familiar symbol is stamped across her chest.

 

The girl blinks awake, and she has the same purple eyes as Lois. Her eyes dart around and settle on Lois’s face. She says, in practiced English, “My name is Kara Zor-El. I am from the planet Krypton, which has been destroyed. My baby cousin, Kala Jor-El, was sent here in a ship similar to mine. We will need shelter and food. We will have powers beyond this realm, due to your yellow sun. Have you seen my cousin’s ship?”

 

When Kara finishes her speech, she pulls herself into a sitting position and looks over Lois properly. Her mouth falls open.

 

 _“That’s the crest of the house of El,”_ she says in rapid Kryptonian. _“Why do you know that crest?”_

 

 _“Kara, you have to listen to me,”_ Lois says, leaning closer to her. _“This is going to come as a shock to you but you have to trust me. Something went wrong in your flight. It’s been much, much longer than you think it has. I am Kala Jor-El.”_

 

 _“No,”_ Kara says, her voice in a hoarse whisper. _“Impossible. I was supposed to protect you, and you’re--you’re all grown up?”_

 

_“I landed on the side of the road when a man happened to pass. His name was Samuel Lane and he took me in and adopted me. When I got older, I discovered my heritage and became a superhero. I protect this world as Superwoman. Come with me.”_

 

Lois holds out her hand and Kara takes it.

 

Her cousin!

 

Lois helps Kara out of the ship and takes her hand. She’ll have to take her to the Fortress, then back home, and she’ll have to get the ship at some point. Bruce speaks fluent Kryptonian, and Steph’s is passable. Lois thinks Alfred could get by, too. Kara will be able to communicate with everyone in the manor, and they’ll be able to help her.

 

She won’t replace Cass and Jason, Lois thinks firmly, but maybe she’ll help them heal.

 

—

 

Tim spots Stephanie Wayne’s blonde hair from the halls of Gotham Academy; he runs up behind her and grabs her backpack, dragging her into the nearest empty classroom.

 

“What the hell?” Steph asks, her fists curling into balls.

 

“Listen to me,” Tim says. He hadn’t planned on doing this this way, but sometimes he _does_ act on his impulses. He usually regrets it. “I know who your dad is.”

 

“Everyone does,” Steph says, her face darkening in anger and Tim already sort of regrets dragging her in here like this.

 

“Not like that,” Tim says quickly. “No, your dad--I know that he’s _Batman.”_ The last word is spoken in a whisper, and Steph says, “Batman isn’t real.”

 

Her voice is stony and her face is hard and Tim wants to back down, but he can’t now so he says, “Yes he is, and your dad is Batman and your mom is Superwoman and your sister is Supergirl, and your other sis--”

 

“Shut up,” Steph hisses. “Don’t talk about _them.”_

 

“Sorry,” Tim says, raising his hands. “The point is that all of the Waynes are superheros, and I’ve known for a-a while, and I was, um, tracking Lex Luthor’s behavior, and I found a lab, that he was, um, growing stuff? And like--clones? And I was gonna leave it alone, but y-you guys haven’t unearthed it yet, and--”

 

Steph slaps her hand over his mouth and says, “How did you figure all of this out? How’d _you_ hack into Luthor’s business?”

 

She takes her hand off and Tim says, “T-the Oracle helped me. We’ve been working together.”

 

“Oracle?”

 

“Yeah, um, she’s a hacker? At least I think she’s a she.”

 

Steph scowls and Tim regrets everything. He hadn’t thought she would be that intimidating, since he’s known her for years and she’s shorter than him and she has a Hello Kitty pencil case. It suddenly occurs to Tim that only the most terrifying of girls would have a Hello Kitty pencil case after the age of seven.

 

Tim wonders if she really didn’t know about Oracle.

 

“Where are the clones?” Steph asks.

 

“Well there’s only one, really, and--” Her look shuts him up, and he says, “Under LexCorp’s original building. Project CADMUS, I think.”

 

Steph whips out her phone and types something, then she looks up and points her phone at him.

 

“Screw you, Tim Drake,” she says. “If you tell anyone about our identities, I’m gonna break the no kill rule, and come after you personally.”

 

Tim gulps and she turns on her heel, stalking towards the window. Tim knows for a fact that there’s an alarm on the window, but she opens it without setting anything off and swings one leg around the other side of the sill.

 

“Oh, and by the way,” she says, turning back to look at him. “My mom’s Superwoman, so don’t try anything, alright?”

 

“I won’t,” Tim says, and Steph jumps out the window, somehow sliding it shut behind her. Tim runs up to peek outside, and Steph is gone.

 

—

 

“Talia,” a voice says, even and smooth. “How is everything?”

 

“Fine,” Talia says, not turning around. “Everything is according to plan.”

 

“Except my daughter, brain dead,” the voice says, anger leaking into her tone.

 

“That’s been fixed,” Talia says.

 

“How?”

 

“Do not question the might of Ra’s al Ghul,” Talia says. “Trust me, everything is to plan.”

 

“Good.”

 

It seems as if the other woman won’t say anything else, so Talia says, “Are you not going to ask after your daughter? How she fares? How she asks for her brother, her father?”

 

“I do not let my emotions get the better of me, unlike some people,” the other voice says, but there’s a note of agitation. Talia smiles.

 

“I know where my priorities lie,” she says.

 

“You’d better not be letting my daughter be emotional.”

 

“I thought you didn’t want her to be brain dead?”

 

“Your son doesn’t appreciate your snark,” the other voice says, and Talia turns, her sword at Shiva’s neck.

 

“Don’t speak to me of my son,” she growls. “I know what I am doing.”

 

“You’re too emotional,” Shiva spits. “My son is dead and you’re willing to bargain for yours. Who’s the callous one?”

 

“I am not the one who left one of my children dead,” Talia says, dryly. “Cassandra fares well. I hope Damian can say the same.”

 

“He’s comfortable,” Shiva says, begrudgingly.

 

“Good,” Talia says, sheathing her sword. “I hope he remains that way.”

 

“That all depends on Cassandra’s comfort,” Shiva says.

 

“I’m well aware,” Talia says. “Trust me.”

 

—

 

“So we got you a present,” Kara says, and Steph smiles, nodding aggressively. Kon looks between the two of them, looking at their faces. Both of them seem giddy. Kon’s a little afraid.

 

He’s only lived with the Waynes for a few weeks, and he doesn’t know either of his new sisters very well. Both of them seem excitable and very close, although Kon can already tell that they both carry some messed-up stuff from their pasts.

 

It’s sad, because everyone around him has that same heavy feeling. Bruce, Lois, Alfred, even--they all do.

 

It’s only a matter of time before Kon has that same look, and he doesn’t really want it. At all.

 

“What’d you get me?” he asks, wary--mostly because he doesn’t know what to expect.

 

Kara holds out her hands and there’s a little package wrapped in silver wrapping paper with a green bow taped on the top.

 

“It’s not a lot,” Steph says, biting her lip. “But we really wanted to give this to you.”

 

Kara hands the package to Kon; it’s light. He opens it after a glance up at the girls.

 

Kon tosses the paper aside.

 

It’s a binder.

 

He looks back up at them with his jaw dropped.

 

“You like?” Kara asks, and Steph says, “We had to fight Lois to let us be the ones to buy it.”

 

Kon clutches it to his chest.

 

“I love it,” he says, trying not to cry.

 

“We, um, didn’t know your size,” Steph says. “So we got a couple different sizes and if that one doesn’t fit you than you can adjust accordingly. Also Lois said she was gonna build in a binder in your Superboy suit. Something about Kryptonian tech? I don’t know.”

 

“I’m so excited,” Kara says, jumping slightly on her toes. “I’ve never had a brother before.”

 

Steph goes silent and Kon says, “I’ve never had a sister before, let alone two.”

 

“Awesome,” Kara says, and they high five.

 

—

 

Courtney is coming home from cheerleading practice when a streak of bright light streaks across the sky and she feels the crash. It sounds like it’s coming from somewhere close.

 

“Let’s check it out,” Courtney says, and Mary groans, long and loud, and Courtney ignores her, running to the scene of the crash.

 

The thing that’s landed is golden and sparkly and _hot,_ and Courtney stands a few feet away from it, her hands on her hips. 

 

“Finders keepers,” she says, and Mary sighs.

 

“Court,” she says tiredly, “This isn’t gonna be like the time we stole your stepdad’s robot suit, right?”

 

“I don’t know,” Courtney says, grinning. “But I hope so.”

 

—

 

“Who are you?” Batman demands roughly. “Why are you doing this?”

 

“I already told you,” Red Hood says. “I’m Red Hood! And I’m doing this for my brother.”

 

Red Hood pushes her pain down deep in her chest and waves the crowbar, pointing it at Batman.

 

“And I don’t need you in my way,” she growls, and she turns and leaps off the roof.

 

Someone catches her.

 

“Get off!” Red Hood shrieks, and Supergirl makes a face at her.

_Replacement._

 

“Rao, let me land, at least,” Supergirl says, and Red Hood opens one of the pockets in her belt.

 

Green light leaks out and Supergirl drops her.

 

Red Hood freefalls, twisting and landing on her feet on a fire escape. She flips over the side of the escape and tucks into a roll on the ground, getting to her feet.

 

Someone grabs her and holds her in a headlock, pinning her against the wall.

 

“Give it up, Hood,” an achingly familiar voice growls and Red Hood laughs bitterly.

 

“Never,” she says, and she reaches back to try and hit Spoiler with her crowbar.

 

Spoiler releases her and ducks, and Hood finds herself face-to-face with her baby sister.

 

Face-to-face being relative, of course, as both of them have masks, and Steph doesn't even know who she's looking at. 

 

“You’re doing this for your brother, huh?” Spoiler says. “I would do anything for my brother, too, but you can’t kill the Joker.”

 

“Why not?” Hood asks. “You bat people can get away with anything; why can’t I?”

 

“Killing the Joker won’t solve anything,” Spoiler says. “Besides, its you against five, and one of our five is Superwoman.”

 

“I would argue that it’s three against one,” Hood says. “You should check up on Oracle sometime. Anyway, I’m killing the Joker and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

 

She turns on her heel and stalks away, fully expecting Super-whoever or Batman to appear from nowhere and stop her.

 

“At least tell me why,” Spoiler says. Hood turns and looks over her shoulder. “Why you think killing the Joker will help your brother.”

 

Cass hadn’t planned to reveal herself; she’d planned on waiting. She’d already been planning her reveal.

 

“If you could get revenge for Jason,” she asks, sadly, still looking at Spoiler. Steph takes a step back, shocked. “Wouldn’t you?”

 

And with that, Cass turns and runs away.

 

Nobody tries to stop her.

 

—

 

Spoiler presses her comm into her ear with shaky fingers.

 

She’s never used this comm before, although she’s had it for a while.

 

“Cass?” she asks, her voice rough.

 

“Oh god, Steph,” Cass says, her voice dripping in relief. “Did you escape? Where are you?”

 

“I’m in, um, a warehouse somewhere. My leg is--not good. Um. T-the Joker is….tied up.”

 

Steph almost regrets adding that last part, and Cass says, “Send me your location.”

 

Steph does, and they disconnect, and Steph collapses on the ground. She’s in so much pain. She casts a glance up at the Joker, who’s in a chair and tied up, unconscious, his green hair flopping over his eyes. Steph hates him.

 

Red Hood flips in, through the window.

 

She pulls out her gun and shoots the Joker through the skull before Steph can even blink. The gun startles her and blood goes everywhere and Steph bursts into tears.

 

“I’m calling Bruce or Lois,” Cass says, and Steph buries her hands in her bloody gloves and tries to stop crying.

 

She can’t.

 

Suddenly, Cass is in front of her.

 

“Listen,” she says. “Joker is dead and I have to lie low. Someone’s coming for you, but they can’t see me. Bruce would kill me. I’ve had a plan set up in case I got my opportunity, and now that I’ve got it--I’m gonna travel. See the world. I’ll be back, okay?”

 

“Don’t die,” Steph whispers, and Cass hugs her. Steph inhales the scent of her, and then Cass stands up and slides out a window.

 

Less than a second later, Lois flies through the window and stops, assessing the situation.

 

“What happened?” she asks, and Steph says, “I-I escaped, an-and I t-tied him up, and I-I c-called C-Cass--”

 

Suddenly she’s crying too much to finish, and Lois scoops her up.

 

“Shh,” she says. “It’ll be alright.”

 

“It’s my fault,” Steph sobs. “I k-killed him.”

 

“No you didn’t,” Lois says. “No, you didn’t. Let’s go home.”

 

Steph clings to her tighter and Lois flies away, leaving through the same window Cass did.

 

—

 

Kon shows up on top of the Daily Planet, holding a teenager by the hood of his jacket.

 

“Superboy!” Supergirl says, surprised. She hasn’t seen her brother in a few months, since he ran off to join the Titans. “What--who’s that?”

 

“This kid,” Superboy says, lifting him up. The kid kicks and says, “Put me down! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Superboy shakes him and he shuts up.

 

“I found him with some homeless kids in the Narrows, trying to be Batboy.”

 

“Why do you care?” the kid asks. “You aren’t from Gotham! Why’d you take me to Metropolis, man?”

 

“You wanted to be Batboy?” Supergirl asks, standing up. “Why?”

 

“I might be able to explain it better if your friend over here lets me go,” the kid says. Superboy shrugs and deposits the guy on the roof.

 

“Start talking,” Supergirl says. “Batboy hasn’t even been around in years. How do you even know about him?”

 

“When I was little, he used to come and give us street kids food and play games with us and stuff,” he explains. “But then he stopped coming, and then we heard a rumor that Red Hood was his sister, so we thought if we dressed like him and became our own Batboy, either she would come and help us or the real Batboy would come back or maybe--maybe we’d be able to help ourselves. It was my idea, don’t hurt any of the kids.”

 

“Interesting,” Supergirl says. “We aren’t gonna hurt you! But I like your idea about helping yourself.”

 

“You do?”

 

“Yeah,” Supergirl says. “A lot of the heroes I know lived on the streets before they were heroes.”

 

“Like who?” the kid demands, and Supergirl says, “Catgirl, Catboy, Night, Red Arrow, Red Canary, Arrow Canary.” She pauses. “Batboy.”

 

“Really?” the kid says.

 

“Yeah,” Superboy says. “It’s true. Gatherer lived on the streets for a little bit, too.”

 

“Ooh, _Gatherer,_ ” Supergirl says, and Superboy says, “I will not hesitate to heat vision you.”

 

Supergirl laughs and says, “What’s your name, kid?”

 

“Duke,” he says, drawing himself up. “Duke Thomas.”

 

—

 

“You will never be Father,” Damian spits from his corner, where he’s been told to sit until further notice.

 

“I’m not trying to be Dad,” Steph says, adjusting her cape. “I’m trying to be Batman.”

 

“There is no difference,” Damian dismisses. Steph opens her mouth then closes it.

 

“If it helps,” Duke says, pulling the hood up. “I think you’ll make a rad Batman.”

 

“Thank you,” Steph says. “That does help.”

 

Damian scoffs and Steph pulls up her cowl. She inspects herself in the mirror.

 

She looks pretty badass, actually.

 

Duke whistles.

 

“Wow,” he says. “I think you look better than Bruce did.”

 

“Let’s not throw things around,” Steph says, turning this way and that. “Although yeah, I probably do.”

 

Her chest hurts and she gives a mental, _Sorry, Dad_ , up to the heavens or out to the graveyard or wherever people go after they die.

 

She remembers this pain, from when she first moved here and Lois tried to be her mom and Steph couldn’t do it, couldn’t betray Crystal--but now she’s over it. Lois and Crystal are her moms, and even though she only has Bruce, and now she doesn’t--she’s not afraid of being alone, or betraying someone.

 

She has family, this time.

 

Batman turns and looks at Duke--Spoiler--and Damian, who’s still in the corner.

 

“Alright,” she says. “Let’s go.”

 

—

 

When Olive comes back to school, she’s approached by a senior she barely knows.

 

She recognizes her face but she doesn’t know her name or why she would know who this girl is.

 

“Hey, Olive Silverlock, right?” the girl says, and Olive nods. The semester is almost over, then it’ll be summer, and Olive won’t have to deal with people anymore until next year, and hopefully over the summer everyone will forget that Olive missed a week of school, and more importantly they’ll forget _why._

 

“How do you know who I am?” Olive asks, wary and hoping this girl isn’t some sort of Arkham enthusiast or something. That’d be _awful._

 

“Oh, I’m Damian’s older sister,” the girl says. “Stephanie Wayne.”

 

Well that explains why she’s familiar, Olive guesses, although Damian has _two_ older sisters who are blonde and seniors and Olive doesn’t know if Stephanie is the one who’s been adopted longer or not.

 

“Okay,” Olive says. “Did you need something?”

 

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for your loss,” Stephanie says, her eyes big and shiny. “And that my dad--my bio dad, that is--died in the same place your mother did. So I know how it feels.”

 

“Oh,” Olive says, then she meets Stephanie’s eyes. “My mom wasn’t a bad person, though. She was just sick.”

 

“I believe you,” Stephanie says, easily. “My dad _was_ a bad person. If you ever need to talk to someone--I’m there for you, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Olive says, a little confused, and Stephanie pats her shoulder and turns and joins a fellow senior, walking by.

 

Olive stares after her.

 

“Olive!” a voice says, and she turns to look at Tristan and Pom, who’re looking at her, confused. “What was that about?”

 

“I don’t know,” Olive says, trying to find Stephanie in the halls.

 

She wonders if she’s gonna take Stephanie up on her offer.  

 

Maybe.

 

—

 

Courtney holds Steph close.

 

“No metas in Gotham,” Steph whispers, and Courtney says, “I’m not a meta. I’m an alien.”

 

“We like aliens, in Gotham,” Steph says, and Courtney laughs.

 

“I know,” she says, and Steph grins, kisses her.

 

Courtney hums into the kiss and when they break apart, she says, “I was accepted into GCU.”

 

“Really?” Steph asks, her face lighting up. “No way!”

 

“Yeah,” Courtney says. “Yeah, you’ll never get rid of me.”

 

“Are you kidding?” Steph says. “I’d like nothing more.”

 

They kiss again and this time Steph breaks apart reluctantly.

 

“I have to go get Dami and Olive,” she says. “Their school ends today.”

 

“Can I come with you?” Courtney asks, and Steph says, “I want to say yes, but I feel like you just want to kiss me in the car.”

 

“You know me too well,” Courtney says, grinning, and Steph says, “To be continued, then.”

 

“To be continued,” Courtney echoes, and Steph turns to leave, looking back to wave before shutting the door behind her.

 

—

 

Bruce sits down and looks around. Somehow, everyone is there.

 

Cass is leaning on Steph’s shoulder, looking at the book from over her shoulder. Steph is mouthing the words, whether because Cass actually needs it or from old habit, Bruce doesn’t know.

 

Damian is on the floor with Steph’s service-dog-in-training, just laying with her head as his pillow, clearly trying to nap.

 

Kara’s on her phone, texting her girlfriend, and Kon is on _his_ phone texting _his_ boyfriend.

 

Duke, who Bruce doesn’t know very well but want to know better, is playing a video game with Olive, who’s entirely new and Bruce can’t wait to get to know her, too.

 

There’s an empty, Jason-sized hole, but when Alfred comes out, bringing drinks for everyone, and Lois shifts from her spot on the other side of the couch to lean on Bruce’s shoulder, Bruce thinks that it might be getting easier to bear.

 

“I’m glad you’re alive,” Lois murmurs against Bruce’s shoulder, and he kisses her forehead.

 

“I’m glad I’m alive, too.”

 

—-

 

Black Canary groans in frustration.

 

“What is it?” Green Lantern asks, sitting at the table next to her.

 

“Look at them!” Black Canary says. “They’re so oblivious!”

 

“Who?” Green Lantern asks.

 

“Them!” Canary says, gesturing at the idiots across from her.

 

Batman and Superwoman are deep in conversation, Superwoman leaning closer to him than just-friends would.

 

“Oh,” Lantern says.

 

“Yeah,” Flash says, sitting down. “Yeah, they’re made for each other.”

 

“But they don’t see it!” Canary says.

 

“Maybe Kryptonians and Gothamites work differently than regular humans,” Lantern reasons. “Maybe they’re all just idiots.”

 

“As a past Gothamite, I resent that,” Catwoman says. “I think it’s just Batman who’s a fool.”

 

“Definitely,” Canary says, leaning on her hands. “Those two will never get it figured out, just you see.”

 

The League shakes their heads in agreement, and across the room Batman smiles. Not that he’d ever let the League see that, of course.

 

“Oh dear,” he says under his breath. Superwoman smiles at him. “They have _no idea.”_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading !!! comments/kudos always welcome!


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